Random coil index

Sometimes scientists want to look at how a molecule like a protein is folded up. They can use a tool called a random coil index to help them do this. A protein is made up of tiny things called amino acids, and these are connected together like beads on a string. The random coil index looks at how these amino acids are arranged in the protein, and tells us if they are all twisted up and tangled, or spread out neatly. Imagine if you had a jumbled ball of string, and you wanted to know how tangled it was. You could use a tool like the random coil index to help you measure this. Scientists use the random coil index to help them understand the shape of proteins and how they work in our bodies.